System and method for cooling the barrel of a firearm

ABSTRACT

A system for cooling the barrel of a firearm thereby maintaining a more consistent barrel temperature and reducing thermal distortion of the barrel. 
     The system includes a fan apparatus for injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of a firearm. The fan apparatus comprises a first orifice and a second orifice. The first orifice interfaces with the firearm by injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of the firearm

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates with the firearms industry and more specifically relates to means and methods for cooling the barrels of firearms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The endeavor of accurising firearms such as rifles dates back to over one hundred years ago. For instance, early on, the barrels of rifles were longitudinally fluted with grooves to impart a gyroscopic spin to bullets. In addition, elliptical bullets took the place of spherical projectiles as manufacturers discovered the improved aerodynamics and ballistics properties of the sharpened shapes.

And today, the confluence of all the prior art along with the studies of ballistics have revolutionized firearms technology. Nowadays, the combination of state of the art technology combined with a skilled shooter can produce seemingly impossible accuracy of unguided projectile bullets. A skilled shooter with suitable technology can hit a target over a mile away. Many of these shooters can achieve results of less than 1 MOA (minute of angle) or less (sometimes referred to as “sub-MOA”).

These skilled shooters employ extremely fastidious shooting methods such as hand loading and preparing their own projectiles. With this practice shooters carefully weigh gun powder with highly accurate scales. Many shooters are able to achieve the consistency of less than a grain of gun powder, or 1/70,000^(th) of an ounce.

One of the most difficult obstacles in ensuring pinpoint accuracy in shooting a firearm is that the heat generated by the explosion of the gun powder creates thermal distortion of the barrel. As the temperature of the barrel increases, the metal naturally expands. For this reason, KIMBER® Mfg., Inc. (a rifle manufacturer A Federally Registered Trademark) recommends waiting three minutes after taking a shot in order to allow the barrel of the rifle to cool back down to ambient air temperature. Accordingly, many advanced shooters will take no more than 5 shots in a shot string. Typically, these shooters will allow three minutes or more between shots. Additionally, these shooters will allow for substantially more cooling time between shot strings.

Thermal distortion of the barrel of the rifle alters the consistency of the barrel of the rifle. Whereas the overarching law of accurizing firearms is “consistency”, each consecutive shot actively works against consistency.

Efforts have been made to reduce the attendant thermal distortion of the barrels of firearms. Some rifles have been equipped with heavier and thicker barrels. Some rifles have been longitudinally fluted with outside grooves to increase the surface area and heat dissipation.

Notwithstanding these efforts, there are still lingering effects of thermal distortion. For this reason, it is not uncommon for highly skilled shooters to take only three practice shots in a period of 15 to 20 minutes and allow their rifles to cool down to ambient air temperature. Naturally, this wasted time prevents skilled shooters from getting the most from their practice sessions.

One area where the inefficient practice sessions of sharp shooters becomes problematic is counter-terrorism. For instance, the firearms used by counter-terrorism personnel must be more accurate than that of standard military rifles. The reason for this is because the target is usually an aggressor's head, or other relatively small limbs. These rifles are usually heavier and constructed with superior accuracy and tighter tolerances than their standard military counterparts.

Therefore, what is clearly needed in the art is a method and system for speeding up the cooling of firearms barrels to the temperature just before a “cold-shot”. By speeding up the process of cooling, more consistency is imparted into the firing of the rifles. Moreover, a quicker cooling method and system would enable students of counter-terrorism forces to make more cold barrel shots in a given amount of time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to speed up the process of cooling the barrels of firearms. By bringing the temperature of the barrel to ambient air temperature, more consistency as well as predictability enables a shooter to become more accurate. By speeding up this process a shooter can make more cold barrel shots in a given amount of time.

Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for counter-terrorism forces to acquire more practice shots in a given amount of time. By taking more shots in a practice session, a student can sharpen his or her skills exponentially quicker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 a is a frontal view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 b is a frontal view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a frontal view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a frontal view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a frontal view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a unique system, method, and apparatus are used to cool the barrel of a rifle. The present invention is described in enabling detail below.

For the purposes of the present invention the term “cold-shot” shall refer to the first shot a shooter takes whether in a practice session, a competitive event, or in the field. The temperature of the barrel of a rifle just before a cold shot is taken, at that moment in time, provides the baseline for which consistency is predicated. By recording this temperature, one will have a good idea as to the relative thermal distortion or lack thereof of the firearm after firing a given number of shots.

For the purposes of the present invention the term “firearm” shall include rifles, guns, shotguns, pistols, “sharp-shooting” rifles, etc. Although the present invention is primarily aimed at problems which are mainly associated with rifles, it is conceivable that the present invention may be applicable in other endeavors.

For the purpose of the present invention the term “fan apparatus” shall include all devices which are used to pull or suck air as well as to inject or push air. These terms will be interchangeably used for the purposes of the present invention. For instance, the fan apparatus may incorporate either a blower or a vacuum in various embodiments.

For the purposes of the present invention the term “refrigerant” shall mean any substance, compound, or material which is used to provide a cooling means. Examples include, but are not limited to: ice, cold packs, air conditioning units, frozen liquids or solids, etc.

FIG. 1 a illustrates a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 of the present invention is used for the purpose of cooling the barrel of a firearm thereby maintaining a consistent temperature and reducing thermal distortion. By cooling the barrel to the same temperature as the first “cold shot” of the firearm, the ballistics and trajectory of the bullet will meet higher performance standards. The system includes a fan apparatus 101 for injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of a firearm. In other preferred embodiments the system can cool the barrel of a rifle from the muzzle 251 end of the rifle as illustrated in FIGS. 8-11. In this example a collar 250 is used to mate the fan with the muzzle. The muzzle has a first distal end 275 to mate with the fan and a second distal end 276 to mate with the muzzle of the rifle.

The fan apparatus comprises a first orifice 102 and a second orifice 103. The first orifice interfaces with the firearm by injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of the firearm.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 a, 5 and 6, some preferred embodiments of the present invention may optionally include a bore guide 104. The bore guide is an elongate tube sized to mate with the fan apparatus and the receiver of the firearm. The bore guide comprises a first distal end 105 and a second distal end 106. The first distal end connects with the fan apparatus and the second distal end connects with the firearm.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2-4 some preferred embodiments may also implement the use of a cool air generating apparatus for providing pre-cooled air or gas to be injected into the barrel of the firearm. The cool air apparatus is a cooling chamber 107, a conduit 108, and a cooling means 109. The cooling chamber is a cylindrical container in some preferred embodiments. The cylindrical container is comprised of a cup 110 and a lid 111 in some preferred embodiments. The lid comprises a first side 112, a second side 113, and at least one orifice 114. The cup and the lid are sized to mate with each other. It should be noted here that in some preferred embodiments the cup may have at least one cup orifice 280.

The conduit is a hollow elongate tube with a first end 115 and a second end 116. The first end is connected with the lid and the second end is connected with the second orifice of the fan apparatus.

In some preferred embodiments the cooling means may be ice. Alternatively, in other preferred embodiments the cooling means may be a admixture of water and ammonium nitrate fertilizer (sometimes referred to as a “cold pack”). In other preferred embodiments the cooling mean may be a refrigerator. And in other preferred embodiments the cooling means may be a refrigerant. Although these aforementioned means are mentioned, a person skilled in the art may be able to devise other fungible or suitable cooling means to be used with the present invention. For this reason, the scope of the present invention is not meant to be construed to be limiting to only these cooling means.

FIG. 8 also shows that in some preferred embodiments the system may further implement or include a thermometer 117. The thermometer is used for taking temperature T1 of the barrel of the firearm at, time X1 and for subsequently taking the temperature T2 of the barrel of the firearm at time X2. In some preferred embodiments the thermometer may be either a surface-mount thermometer 275 (illustrated in FIG. 15) or an infrared digital thermometer (illustrated in FIG. 8). The surface mount thermometer may be either analog or digital. In some preferred embodiments the thermometer may be an infrared laser thermometer. Other preferred embodiments may implement other types of thermometers.

The crux of the present invention is to achieve maximum cold shot consistency with respect to the ambient temperature and the barrel temperature of the rifle. For this reason, the first temperature reading is taken just before the “cold shot” of the firearm. Subsequently, the temperature of the barrel is usually taken after a length of time of cooling. These temperatures will be taken until the cooling process has cooled the barrel of the firearm to the temperature just prior to the “cold shot”.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow diagram of a preferred method of cooling the barrel of a firearm to be used with the present invention. The method comprises the following steps: 201 Taking the temperature T1 of the barrel of the firearm at an initial time X1 with a thermometer 202 Injecting or fanning air into or from the barrel of the firearm with a fan apparatus; 203 Taking the temperature T2 of the barrel of the firearm at a subsequent time X2; and 203 Injecting or fanning air into or from the barrel of the firearm until T2 is lesser than T1.

It will be apparent to the skilled artisan that there are numerous changes that may be made in embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. As such, the invention taught herein by specific examples is limited only by the scope of the claims that follow. 

1. A system for cooling a barrel of a firearm thereby reducing thermal distortion of the barrel comprising: a fan apparatus for injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of a firearm and a collar; a first orifice interfaces with the firearm by injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of the firearm.
 2. The system for cooling the barrel of a firearm of claim 1 wherein the fan apparatus comprises a first orifice and a second orifice; the first orifice interfaces with the firearm by injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of the firearm.
 3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a bore guide; the bore guide is an elongate tube sized to mate with the fan apparatus and a receiver of the firearm; the bore guide comprises a first distal end and a second distal end; the first distal end connects with the fan apparatus and the second distal end connects with the firearm.
 4. The system of claim 2 further comprising a cool air generating apparatus for providing pre-cooled air or gas to be injected into the barrel of the firearm; the cool air apparatus is comprised of a cooling chamber, a conduit, and a cooling device; the cooling chamber is a container housing the cooling means; the cylindrical container having a cup and a lid; the lid having a first side, a second side, and at least one orifice; the cup and the lid are sized to mate with each other; the conduit is a hollow elongate tube with a first end and a second end; the first end is connected with the lid and the second end is connected with the second orifice of the fan apparatus.
 5. The system of claim wherein the cooling means is ice; the ice is disposed in the cup of the cooling chamber.
 6. The system of claim 4 wherein the cooling means is a cold pack.
 7. The system of claim 4 wherein the cooling means is a refrigerant.
 8. The system of claim 4 wherein the cooling means is a refrigerator.
 9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a thermometer; the thermometer is used for taking temperature T1 of the barrel of the firearm at time X1 and for subsequently taking the temperature T2 of the barrel of the firearm at time X2.
 10. The system of claim 9 wherein the thermometer is an infrared digital thermometer.
 11. A system for cooling a barrel of a firearm thereby maintaining a consistent temperature and reducing thermal distortion of the barrel: a fan apparatus for injecting cooled air or other gases into the barrel of the firearm and a cool air generating apparatus for providing pre-cooled air or gas to be injected into the barrel of the firearm and a collar; the fan apparatus comprises a first orifice and a second orifice; the first orifice interfaces with the firearm by injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of the firearm; the cool air apparatus is comprised of a cooling chamber, a conduit, and a cooling device; the cooling chamber is comprised of a cylindrical container; the cylindrical container having a cup and a lid; the lid having a first side, a second side, and at least one orifice; the cup and the lid are sized to mate with each other; the conduit is a hollow elongate tube with a first end and a second end; the first end is connected with the lid and the second end is connected with the second orifice of the fan apparatus
 12. A method for cooling the barrel of a firearm thereby generating a consistent temperature for each shot comprising the steps; a. taking the temperature T1 of the barrel of the firearm at an initial time X1 with a thermometer; b. injecting or fanning air into or from the barrel of the firearm with a fan apparatus; c. taking the temperature T2 of the barrel of the firearm at a subsequent time X2 d. injecting or fanning air into or from the barrel of the firearm until T2 is lesser than T1
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the thermometer is a surface mount thermometer.
 14. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of pre-cooling the air in a cool air apparatus.
 15. The method of claim 12 wherein the cooling means is ice.
 16. The method of claim 12 wherein the cooling means is a refrigerant.
 17. The method of claim 12 wherein the fan apparatus comprises a first orifice and a second orifice; the first orifice interfaces with the firearm by injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of the firearm.
 18. (canceled)
 19. The method of claim 12 further comprising a bore guide, bore guide is an elongate tube sized to mate with the fan apparatus and the barrel of the firearm; the bore guide comprises a first distal end and a second distal end; the first distal end connects with the fan apparatus and the second distal end connects with the firearm.
 20. The method of claim 12 further comprising fan apparatus for injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of a firearm; the fan apparatus comprises a first orifice and a second orifice; the first orifice interfaces with the firearm by injecting or removing air or other gases to or from the barrel of the firearm. 